The present invention relates to a lens blank package and more particularly to such a package which protects the lens blank from being scratched without the need for additional protective wrapping.
Typically an optical lens blank of the type employed in eyeglasses must be shipped from the manufacturer of the lens blank to an optical laboratory which cuts the lens blank to shape and polishes it as necessary to provide the desired functionality, and finally to the retail optician who places the lens in the eyeglasses. Additionally, frequently, cut lenses are returned by the retail optician to the wholesale optician or optical laboratory for tinting, correction, or the like. Each lens blank is typically shipped in a separate carton. The carton is typically a conventional parallelepiped carton having a pair of major side panels, a pair of minor side panels connected to the major side panels by foldlines, and a pair of major end panels connected to respective major side panels or the same major side panel. The carton is typically a double tuck end carton so that there is a tuck flap connected to the top major end panel and optionally a pair of dust flaps connected to the pair of minor side panels at both ends of the package. As the paperboard material from which the carton is formed typically is coated on only one side thereof to facilitate printing thereof, especially color printing on the exterior surface of the carton, the interior surface of the carton is uncoated and therefore is even rougher than the exterior thereof.
In order to prevent the scratching of the lens blank by the carton during packing, transport, and unpacking, the lens blank is wrapped in a non-abrasive tissue paper which is substantially less abrasive to the lens than the interior surface of the carton. Preferably, the tissue paper is manually wrapped about the lens blank and thereafter the wrapped lens blank is placed in the carton. Furthermore, there have been some indications recently that the operations of folding in minor end panels and tucking flaps of narrow cartons are repetitive actions which, when done manually by workers continuously during a work shift, lead to complaints of carpal tunnel syndrome in the hands of such workers. A further disadvantage of this procedure is that, when the lens is finally removed from the package, there is both the package and the non-abrasive material to be disposed of.
In order to preclude the lens blank shifting around within the package during transport, and thereby minimize scratching of the lens due to its movement, relative to the carton, either sufficient non-abrasive material must be employed in the package or additional non-abrasive material must be added to the package by the person inserting the lens. The appropriate amount of non-abrasive material to be employed to prevent shifting cannot be accurately predicted since lens blanks vary substantially in thickness depending upon the strength thereof, etc. Where the original wrapping of non-abrasive material is inadequate to make the lens blank fit snugly within the carton there is a need to manually rewrap the lens blank or stuff additional non-abrasive material within the carton. This additional operation is time consuming.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present Invention to provide a lens blank package which protects the lens blank or the finished lens therein against scratching without requiring pre-wrapping of the lens blank with non-abrasive material.
A further object is to provide such a package which accommodates both thin and thick lenses to prevent them from shifting without varying the amount of non-abrasive material wrapped around the lens blank.
It is another object to provide such a package which is economical to manufacture and simple to use.
It is a further objective to ease the fatigue factor by providing a carton construction which can be easily erected and prepared for filling after a simple one-hand squeeze motion.